


I know ...

by nathaniel_hp



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-05
Updated: 2009-05-05
Packaged: 2017-11-17 00:36:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/545579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nathaniel_hp/pseuds/nathaniel_hp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When we least expect it, we find a person – the unlikeliest one of all – who knows what it's like.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I know ...

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://hh-writersblock.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://hh-writersblock.livejournal.com/)**hh_writersblock** , challenge: Addiction.

There was no way out; he had tried every possible escape route, exerting himself until he had slumped down against the door, panting heavily – only to be shoved out of the way by one of the stupid Mediwitches who were checking up on him every five minutes. _Gloating at him and enjoying every minute of it, no doubt!_ Draco had crawled over to the mattress on the floor in as dignified a manner as his aching and uncooperative body allowed, where he now lay shivering and feeling more miserable than he ever had in his whole cursed life.

He had tried to to talk to the Mediwitch ... Mediwitches? He really wasn't sure how many of them there were. They came in, they left, ignoring him for the most part when they'd made sure he was still alive. One looked like the next, and they all looked different.

Rational at first. _There is no reason for you to keep me here, I'm just a bit out of sorts, nothing a couple of days of rest won't cure. I'll be better so much sooner if you just let me go home. Familiar surroundings and all that._ All he received in answer was silence and a hint of pity in her eyes as the Mediwitch felt his forehead to see if he was running a fever.

Demanding next. _Do you know who I am? No one keeps Draco Malfoy locked up in a room against his will. This will have repercussions! I know people at the Ministry, important people!_ More silence and a cold glare.

Merlin knew he wouldn't normally do this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Draco Malfoy begged. _Please let me go, please. I promise I'll be back, I just need to take care of a couple of things. I'll be back and you can do whatever it is you need to do. Or if you'd just give me just one sip, just a few drops. I can't even think straight. Just a few drops, please. Please!_ He was sobbing now, blinking unseeingly through the tears. The blur that was the Mediwitch left. The click of the lock was too loud and almost hurt physically.

He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, or rather felt, was a warm weight on his shoulders. Someone was draping a blanket around him, carefully tucking it around Draco's thin body. With great effort, Draco opened his eyes and found himself staring at Ron Weasley.

_This is no longer funny,_ he thought desperately. He was clearly starting to hallucinate. Draco groaned, prompting the hallucination to bring up a cup of water to his lips. A very real cup of water. Draco drank greedily until Ron pulled the cup away.

"Don't, you'll make yourself sick." And true enough, as soon as Ron'd said it, Draco felt his stomach protest. He double over, breathing shallowly to will the nausea away.

"Just try to breathe normally. It'll go away in a bit."

Not only did he have to hallucinate about Ron Weasley of all people, no, it had to be a Weasley who was telling him what to do. "You're not real," Draco gasped as he remained curl up in as tiny a ball as possible.

"Oh, I'm real, make no mistake there. Thought I'd bring you a blanket. I remember I was freezing the whole time I was here."

"Huh?" _This didn't make any sense._

I know what you're going through, Malfoy."

_What?_ "You know nothing about me. You've seen what you wanted to see. You can now go and tell your friends all about Draco Malfoy's downfall, but stop taking the piss, okay?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Malfoy, and I'm not taking the piss. I work here, and I wasn't lying: I know exactly what you're going through, every single miserable second of it.

Draco stared at him, unsure of where this strange conversation was leading. He still wasn't sure the Weasel was really there. He closed his eyes, opened them again, but no, the freckled face did not disappear out of his field of vision.

"I know how you feel right now. Confused. And you're hurting all over. You think it's too much, that it's not going to work anyway. But above all, you're thinking about the potion. Constantly."

Draco heard Ron's voice, it was too bright to keep his eyes open, felt it echoing through his mind long after the other man had left the room. He still wasn't sure whether this hadn't just been some fucked-up joke his mind was playing on him.

"I can't tell you that you're going to be okay. I don't know if you will be, but what I do know is that this is a chance, and you better use it, Malfoy, 'cause you mightn't get another."  



End file.
